37 Best Halloween Decoration Ideas for a Spooky 2024

Looking for fun and creative Halloween decoration ideas? Halloween is the perfect season for getting both cozy and scary, with many options for outfitting both outdoor spaces and interiors with cool seasonal details. Some are cute and whimsical, while others can evoke a delightfully horrific shiver among visitors and passersby. 

How to start decorating for Halloween? What can I use to decorate for Halloween?  We’ve rounded up a few of our favorites, ranging from easy DIYs to more high-tech methods of scaring your neighbors and trick-or-treaters. Use them alone or in combination with each other to create the Halloween decor of your dreams (or nightmares!)

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• DIY Halloween Decoration Ideas
• Best Indoor Halloween Decoration Ideas
• Best Outdoor Halloween Decoration Ideas
• Fun Office Halloween Decoration Ideas
• Cool Halloween Decorations for School
• Scariest Halloween Decoration Ideas

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DIY Halloween Decoration Ideas

1. Craft Halloween Décor in Art Classes

One of the best places to spark fun Halloween decoration ideas is by enrolling in an art class. Taught by expert artists, classes are available in a number of creative mediums, including painting, drawing, mixed media and pottery.

You can find art classes in Chicago, art classes in Portland, art classes in Atlanta or art classes near you wherever you happen to live. Browse classes in creepy candle making, ghostly paint and sip sessions and more.

2. Spooky Figurines

Some of the best DIY Halloween decorations can be found in upcycling and repurposing projects. For a fun Halloween accent, use black paint over thrifted miniatures and figurines, which instantly transform them into unique pieces of gothic décor.

Sand the surface first to help the paint adhere, then add a few coats of rich matte black latex or spray paint. The finished figurines make perfect DIY fall décor.

3. Haunted Thrift Store Art

For another great project and Halloween painting idea that incorporates thrifted items, turn any framed print or painting into a spooky piece of Halloween art by painting in details like ghosts, bats, pumpkins or other seasonal imagery on the existing painting.

You can also paint the existing frame black or gold to finish this great DIY Halloween decoration idea. 

4. Apothecary Bottles

Vintage apothecary jars and bottles are a cute and spooky Halloween accent that give off Victorian or mad scientist vibes. Create your own by mixing Mod Podge and food coloring, then swirling the liquid around the inside of the bottle until fully coated.

The Mod Podge will dry clear with just a hint of color. Make several and create a fun assemblage with printed poison or warning labels for a fun DIY Halloween decoration idea.  

5. Glitz & Glam Pumpkins

While pumpkin-related Halloween decor usually comes down on the side of either cute or scary, these sparkly pumpkins offer a slightly more romantic or glam take on decorating.

Cover any real or plastic pumpkin in Mod Podge, then roll it through a liberal amount of glitter. You can also use a glitter adhesive spray for a more subtly sparkly Halloween decoration idea. 

6. Crystal Skull

Another way to bring a bit of sparkle to your halloween decorations is to make a glittering crystal skull. Mix Borax with boiling water and submerge a plastic skull inside.

The Borax will begin to form crystals as it encounters the surface. Remove the skull carefully with tongs and allow it to dry. This also works with other plastic Halloween decor like spiders, pumpkins and skeletal hands. 

7. Haunted Dollhouse

Turn any old dollhouse of any size into a spooky abode by redecorating with the macabre in mind. Paint the walls gray, black or other darker colors and add details like cobwebs, blood stains and peeling paint or wallpaper. 

8. Ghost Candles

You can turn any ordinary pillar or slender prayer candle into a Halloween accent simply by adding black stickers or paper cutouts to the side of the candles to create a simple ghost face.

Group the candles in various heights on a mantel or as part of a centerpiece or use them outside along your walkway to guide trick-or-treaters. 

Best Indoor Halloween Decoration Ideas

9. Haunted Mirror 

Spooky mirrors that bear a terrifying surprise in your reflection are one of the hottest trends in Halloween decoration ideas. You can purchase one from many home retailers and online that are motion sensitive.

Stand in front of it and viewers will encounter ghostly faces and spooky spirits behind them. 

10. Vintage Décor

Vintage Halloween decorations hold a lot of charm. They can often be found at estate sales, thrift, antique stores and garage sales, sometimes in very good condition.

Use them as a fun Halloween decoration idea for indoors. Great options include old masks, cute cardboard cutouts, vintage treat bags, garlands or Halloween figurines.  

11. Creepy Crawly Soap

This fun Halloween decoration idea for indoors will have your guests squirming every time they go to wash their hands. Add several plastic or rubber bugs to a bottle of clear hand soap for a piece of unsettling bathroom décor.

The soap will suspend the bugs perfectly in the liquid, making any guest think twice about using it. 

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12. Skeleton Chandelier

Turn any old chandelier frame into a unique piece of Halloween decor by adding skulls and other Halloween imagery to the frame.

For candle chandeliers, cut or drill a hole in the bottom and top of a plastic skull and slip it over the candles. You can also add additional crystals, beads or bony accents until the entire chandelier is draped in Halloween spirit. 

Best Outdoor Halloween Decoration Ideas

13. Chicken Wire Ghosts

A great outdoor Halloween decor idea is to create a bunch of spooky residents for your lawn. Shape a segment of chicken wire into life-size human shapes then drape them in muslin, mesh or other semi-sheer fabric. Add LED lights inside so that the figures will glow in the dark. 

14  Skull or Pumpkin Topiary 

For a fun Halloween decoration idea for the outdoors, use a stack of larger to smaller pumpkins or skulls stacked in pots to flank your front door this Halloween. Drill or punk holes through the top, then thread them down a wooden dowel or broomstick suspended in the pot.  

15. Googly Eyed Plants

Wondering how to make last-minute Halloween decorations? A fun and whimsical way to add a little bit of Halloween magic quickly is to use the things you already have in your yard.

Place googly eyes of various sizes in existing potted plants and bushes. Everything will start to resemble monsters, especially if you use glow-in-the-dark eyes that are visible to trick-or-treaters. 

16. Front Yard Graveyard

Create a fun graveyard in your front yard by assembling a group of headstones for a cute and spooky Halloween decoration idea for the outdoors.

You can purchase ready-made ones at home retailers or make your own from plywood or old yard signs made of corrugated paper.

Paint them gray with a mottled stone finish, then add stenciled or hand-painted decoration and lettering that gives ominous warnings to passersby.

17. Skeletal Pets

Animal skeletons are some of the most fun Halloween decoration ideas for outdoors or indoors. You can find them in stores, with many options for filling your home or lawn with skeletal pets and wild animals.

Get a bunch and create a haunted petting zoo in your front yard, complete with small fences and various-sized creatures. You can even add some glow-in-the-dark paint to make them visible in the dark or light them up with blacklight spotlights. 

18. Scary Window Cutouts

For a fun Halloween decoration idea to cover your windows, use decorative film or appliques that feature silhouettes of spooky Halloween imagery or starling scenes.

You can buy readymade adhesive versions or create your own from large black rolls of construction or craft paper. Great options include witches, bats, ghosts or pop culture figures like Norman Bates, Jason Voorhees or Freddy Krueger. 

Fun Office Halloween Decoration Ideas

19. Haunted Cubicle Contest

A great Halloween decoration idea for the office and way to foster competition and camaraderie among the workplace is to host a cubicle decorating competition with prizes for categories like most scary, most funny or most creative.

For a fun Halloween party idea, challenge participants to use the whole cubicle, including the outer walls and space above, to create spooky scenes and pull out all the stops.

20. Spooky Water Cooler 

Turn the office watering hole into a fun piece of Halloween decor. Use an adhesive red film over the outside of the dispenser to make it look like blood or stick insects and other creepy crawlies to the exterior. Or cover it entirely in googly eyes for a fun bit of Halloween spirit.  

21. Decorated Doors 

An easy, low commitment, way to decorate the office this Halloween is to wrap the doors in seasonal wraps that feature imagery like pumpkins, vampires, Frankenstein and witches.

The wraps usually attach with double-sided tape or peel-and-stick vinyl and are easily removable when the season is over.

22. Halloween Treat Spread 

Any office holiday Halloween party set-up needs ample decorative treats. Pinterest is full of amazing ideas for homemade treats like mummy rice krispie treats, eyeball tarts and pretzel spiderwebs.

Or make goodie bags out of wrapped treats and candy for your employees to celebrate the season.  

23. Halloween Photo Booth 

For a fun office activity and Halloween decoration idea, set up a spooky-themed photo booth in the office and allow participants to take their own phone camera pictures. All you need is some black velvet, cobwebbing and fun accents like masks and spooky accessories.  

24. Office Crime Scene

Place some strategically shaped masking tape on the floor of the office and invite coworkers to help solve an office murder mystery via clues and puzzles.

You can also string caution and police tape around the office as a morbid true-crime themed Halloween decoration idea. 

Cool Halloween Decorations for School 

25. Pipe Cleaner Spiders

A fun Halloween decoration idea and Halloween craft idea for younger students is making spiders from black pipe cleaners. Start with a single one rolled into a ball or spiral and work outward, looping the legs through the middle.

Add some small beads or googly eyes. These cute little accents are perfect for decorating party tables, desks and bulletin boards all season long. 

26. Halloween Piñata 

A fun and engaging activity in school is making and playing with a Halloween themed piñata. To make a piñata, use a balloon as the base, wrapping it in strips of newsprint adhered with a paste mixture of flour and water. When you're finished, pop the balloon and fill it with candy.

You can also purchase a seasonal piñata from many party stores. Breaking the piñata and enjoying the spoils makes a fun classroom Halloween activity.

27. Paper Chain Ghost

While paper chains are a popular way to decorate classrooms during the winter holidays, these paper rings can also be useful as a Halloween craft idea during the fall for creating spooky accents in the classroom.

Use a hanger frame formed into a circle to suspend and create a three-dimensional ghost figure made entirely of paper rings that blows and jiggles slightly when it catches a breeze.  

28. Book Pumpkins 

For older students, a fun crafty activity and Halloween decoration idea for schools is to create pumpkins from old discarded books. Use an Exacto knife to carve away the edges of a hardcover volume.

When you open the spine all the way around, the pages will fan out into a pumpkin shape. Add some velcro or glue to keep the book open. You can even add some orange or gold paint to the edges. 

Scariest Halloween Decoration Ideas

29. Creepy Dolls

You can turn any ordinary doll into a scary Halloween decoration idea with a few modifications. Old porcelain dolls work perfectly for this project, since they often look quite creepy to start with.

Add some accents like fake blood, darkness around the eyes, wounds and painted red eyes to make the doll even more frightful, then place a grouping of them on your front stoop or in your yard lining the way to your door. 

30. Spooky Projector 

Halloween projectors come in a number of sizes and with a great many designs, including wiggling skeletons, ghostly dancers and swooping witches.

Most work by projecting onto a semi-transparent fabric you place in your yard or in front of your windows, where the images are projected as 3D holograms. 

31. Scary Clown Scarecrow 

Instead of a conventional scarecrow this fall, why not opt for a creepy clown instead? Fill a clown suit with straw and use a terrifying mask or mannequin head at the top. Passersby will do a double take at this unique and scary Halloween decoration idea. 

32. Hanging Skeleton Cages 

How can I decorate my house for Halloween cheaply? Create an easy cage from two inexpensive Dollar Tree plastic laundry baskets placed end to end and secured with zip ties.

Then tuck a large plastic skeleton inside. Hang them on your porch or from trees in the yard for a horrific Halloween accent that will have the neighbors talking. 

33. Haunted Forest 

Add some solar spooky glowing eyes to your trees, which you can pick up at many party stores and general retailers, some of which are animated and or change color.

At night, all that will be visible is the shadowy tree and the eerily glowing eyes.  

34. Heads in Jars

This great Halloween decoration idea requires several large gallon mason jars and a few doll heads. Fill the jars with a few drops of red, purple or green food coloring and suspend the doll heads in the liquid.

You can even add LED puck lights to the top, which will make them glow eerily. Place them in a window or on your front porch. 

35. Leaf Body Bags

A great way to dispose of yard waste is to create fun body-shaped bags to hang and lay about your yard. Fill some large garbage bags with leaves, then wrap them into an elongated shape that looks like a dead body.

Wrap the bags in duct tape to create more shape definition and then hang them upside down from the trees or leave them lying about for a frightful front yard Halloween decoration idea. 

36. Skull Tiki Torches 

For a fun way to light your front path and welcome visitors,  cut a hole through a plastic skull and place it on the torch below the flame. The results may make interlopers think twice before stepping in your yard.

If you do not want to use flaming torches, you can also use stakes topped with skulls with an LED light tucked inside. 

37. Zombie Attack Tableau

Use a wooden shipping pallet to create the perfect zombie scene, with life-size figures that appear to be breaking through the wood palette out of the ground.

Amazon has some great zombie torsos and arms for assembling this tableau, some that glow in the dark or have interior lights so you can see them at night. 

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Whether you're looking for a charmingly cute or horrific season, these projects and Halloween decoration ideas fit the bill for creating a rich seasonal experience in your home and outdoor spaces.

Even better, many are DIY and budget-friendly, making them great for wowing neighbors and visitors year after year. 

For even more fun Halloween ideas, check out other experiences happening on Classpop!